Tuesday, June 09, 2015

My Top 5%

                                     

I've been using Flickchart for several years now. It's a site that randomly pits two movies at a time against each other - you click the one you prefer, and the site gradually produces a ranked list of your highest-rated movies. The site has never taken off the way Letterboxd has - it doesn't allow you to write extended reviews or keep a viewing diary, and it's considerably nerdier than Letterboxd. However, it's one of my favorite time wasters.

This past weekend, I saw that my list had grown long enough that, according to Flickchart, I've now seen 5000 movies (the five thousandth was John Sayles' Lianna, which I quite liked). Granted, their definition of "movies" extends to things like Michael Jackson: Moonwalker, Gallagher stand-up specials and the straight-to-video My Pet Monster tie-in movie that I watched too many times as a kid. Still, I'll take it. To celebrate the occasion, I thought I'd post my top 250 according to my Flickchart rankings. I gave up making any sort of deliberately ranked best-of list a few years back, and this makes for a fun alternative - the first twenty or so are pretty close to the list I'd make if I sat down and thought about it, but after the first fifty, it gets a little more idiosyncratic. It's like a list made by an alternate universe version of me, slightly hipper and with less regard for good taste. I'd trust this guy's opinion over mine, honestly. He just likes the stuff he likes.


1. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
2. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)
3. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
4. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)
5. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
6. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
7. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
8. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)
9. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
10. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
11. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
12. Carrie (Brian De Palma, 1976)
13. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)
14. Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997)
15. Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)
16. The Man Who Fell to Earth (Nicolas Roeg, 1976)
17. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Milos Forman, 1975)
18. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972)
19. Kill Bill vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004)
20. Kill Bill vol. 1 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003)
21. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
22. Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1979)
23. Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973)
24. Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
25. The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)


26. All That Jazz (Bob Fosse, 1979)
27. Nosferatu, Phantom der Nacht (Werner Herzog, 1979)
28. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
29. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)
30. Fargo (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, 1996)
31. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
32. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
33. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
34. Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971)
35. Don't Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973)
36. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960
37. The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986)
38. Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979)
39. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)
40. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
41. 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963)
42. Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)
43. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
44. El Topo (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1970)
45. The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese, 1988)
46. Jules and Jim (François Truffaut, 1962)
47. Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1977)
48. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
49. Sid and Nancy (Alex Cox, 1986)
50. The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982)


51. Secretary (Steven Shainberg, 2002)
52. Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)
53. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
54. Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch, 1996)
55. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
56. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
57. Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)
58. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)
59. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)
60. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)
61. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
62. Modern Romance (Albert Brooks, 1981)
63. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
64. Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 1985)
65. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)
66. Cries and Whispers (Ingmar Bergman, 1972)
67. Orpheus (Jean Cocteau, 1950)
68. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
69. Last Tango in Paris (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1972)
70. Once Upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone, 1984)
71. No Country for Old Men (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, 2007)
72. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)
73. Blow Out (Brian De Palma, 1981)
74. Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
75. City Lights (Charles Chaplin, 1931)


76. The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 1998)
77. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
78. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)
79. Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, 1962)
80. Miller's Crossing (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, 1990)
81. Phantom of the Paradise (Brian De Palma, 1974)
82. Cabaret (Bob Fosse, 1972)
83. Creepshow (George A. Romero, 1982)
84. Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen, 1986)
85. La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960)
86. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)
87. Death Proof (Quentin Tarantino, 2007)
88. My Own Private Idaho (Gus Van Sant, 1991)
89. The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, 1998)
90. The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, 1983)
91. Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)
92. Spirited Away (Hiyao Miyazaki, 2001)
93. The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
94. Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957)
95. True Romance (Tony Scott, 1993)
96. Fanny and Alexander (Ingmar Bergman, 1982)
97. Fearless (Peter Weir, 1993)
98. The Dark Crystal (Jim Henson and Frank Oz, 1982)
99. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Nicholas Meyer, 1982)
100. One From the Heart (Francis Ford Coppola, 1982)


101. The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991)
102. The Verdict (Sidney Lumet, 1982)
103. Lost in America (Albert Brooks, 1985)
104. A Trip to the Moon (Georges Méliès, 1902)
105. Re-Animator (Stuart Gordon, 1985)
106. Y tu mamá también (Alfonso Cuarón, 2001)
107. Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012)
108. Before Midnight (Richard Linklater, 2013)
109. The World's End (Edgar Wright, 2013)
110. The Year of Living Dangerously (Peter Weir, 1982)
111. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (John Hughes, 1987)
112. Manhunter (Michael Mann, 1986)
113. Bambi (David Hand & various, 1942)
114. Eating Raoul (Paul Bartel, 1982)
115. Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme, 1984)
116. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
117. The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)
118. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948)
119. Shoah (Claude Lanzmann, 1985)
120. Woodstock (Michael Wadleigh, 1970)
121. Robocop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987)
122. The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013)
123. Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)
124. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
125. Stroszek (Werner Herzog, 1979)


126. Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)
127. The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1987)
128. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Luis Buñuel, 1972)
129. Frenzy (Alfred Hitchcock, 1972)
130. The Dead Zone (David Cronenberg, 1983)
131. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)
132. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
133. Images (Robert Altman, 1972)
134. The American Friend (Wim Wenders, 1977)
135. Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)
136. Roma (Federico Fellini, 1972)
137. Aliens (James Cameron, 1986)
138. Superman (Richard Donner, 1978)
139. The Secret of Roan Inish (John Sayles, 1995)
140. Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965)
141. Bad Timing (Nicolas Roeg, 1980)
142. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000)
143. Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002)
144. The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin, 1940)
145. Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa, 1957)
146. The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957)
147. Solaris (Steven Soderbergh, 2002)
148. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 1939)
149. Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)
150. Diner (Barry Levinson, 1982)


151. Betty Blue (Jean-Jacques Beiniex, 1986)
152. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974)
153. Performance (Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, 1970)
154. Poltergeist (Tobe Hooper, 1982)
155. Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (Joe Layton, 1982)
156. Tokyo Story (Yasujirô Ozu, 1953)
157. M (Fritz Lang, 1931)
158. A.I. (Steven Spielberg, 2001)
159. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
160. Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004)
161. Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
162. Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994)
163. Macbeth (Roman Polanski, 1971)
164. The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010)
165. The Road Warrior (George Miller, 1981)
166. Day of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1985)
167. Inferno (Dario Argento, 1980)
168. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)
169. The Red Shoes (Michael Powell and Emetic Pressburger, 1948)
170. Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012)
171. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
172. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufman, 1978)
173. Doctor Zhivago (David Lean, 1965)
174. If.... (Lindsay Anderson, 1968)
175. Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa, 1980)


176. Catch-22 (Mike Nichols, 1970)
177. Coming Home (Hal Ashby, 1978)
178. The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978)
179. Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 1987)
180. Three Kings (David O. Russell, 1999)
181. Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese, 2002)
182. Eyes Without a Face (Georges Franju, 1960)
183. Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 1960)
184. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993)
185. Kwaidan (Masaki Kobayashi, 1964)
186. Black Sunday (Mario Bava, 1960)
187. Being There (Hal Ashby, 1979)
188. Night Moves (Arthur Penn, 1975)
189. Sans Soleil (Chris Marker, 1983)
190. La jetée (Chris Marker, 1962)
191. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1964)
192. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
193. A Star is Born (George Cukor, 1954)
194. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
195. Un Chien Andalou (Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, 1929)
196. Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai, 1944)
197. Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)
198. Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)
199. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)
200. An American Werewolf in London (John Landis, 1981)


201. 3 Women (Robert Altman, 1977)
202. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)
203. I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)
204. Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze, 199)
205. The Iron Giant (Brad Bird, 1999)
206. Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955)
207. Diabolique (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)
208. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
209. The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, 1956)
210. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
211. Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)
212. Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet, 1975)
213. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (F.W. Murnau, 1922)
214. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)
215. The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford, 1940)
216. Raising Arizona (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, 1987)
217. American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999)
218. Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
219. Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987)
220. The Fountain (Darren Aronofsky, 2006)
221. Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999)
222. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (Sam Peckinpah, 1973)
223. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)
224. The Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 1993)
225. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)


226. Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2014)
227. A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984)
228. Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993)
229. Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968)
230. Popeye (Robert Altman, 1980)
231. Rushmore (Wes Anderson, 1998)
232. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)
233. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
234. The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963)
235. The Postman Always Rings Twice (Kay Garnett, 1946)
236. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
237. To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962)
238. Belle de jour (Luis Buñuel, 1967)
239. Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson, 1994)
240. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell, 2001)
241. Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
242. The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959)
243. Beauty and the Beast (Jean Cocteau, 1946)
244. Breaking the Waves (Lars Von Trier, 1996)
245. Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, 2013)
246. Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014)
247. Black Moon (Louis Malle, 1975)
248. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Terry Gilliam, 1988)
249. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
250. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell and Emetic Pressburger, 1947)

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